How the volks get their wagen to Canada

Albertan cars that scream “Wild Rose Country” behind, but hang a fake German plate in front do not count.

According to Katrine Kummer, shipping a vehicle from Germany to Canada does not take a lot of work. The German woman and her husband Hans shipped their four-wheel-drive, manual transmission MAN motorhome from Hamburg to Halifax.

“You need an expeditor, and then you bring your car to the harbour in Hamburg and they put it on a boat and the boat makes a great round to Sweden, to Great Britain, and then crosses [the Atlantic] and then goes to Halifax,” said Kummer at the Hope Golf Club, where Hans was golfing, on Sept. 29.

Kummer said she had to follow rules around what she could store in her vehicle when shipping, but otherwise “it’s no problem.”

Shipping took three weeks, and the Kummers flew into Halifax’s airport when it arrived. She said it took only an hour to retrieve it from customs.

Kummer said many people express curiosity about her trip when they saw their vehicle with German plates.

“We crossed Canada and onto Alaska, make a great round in Alaska and now we’re on the way to San Francisco, Mexico,” said Kummer. “We’re going to go to [Central] and South America.”

She has been to all provinces except Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, enjoying lobster rolls in New Brunswick and gawking at the Great Lakes.

“Each part has its own spirit,” she said. “Our favourite is [the] Yukon. We like it very much.”

Kummer estimates her trip to take three years, as she will take breaks. She will fly back to Germany this Christmas, storing their vehicle in Las Vegas for those six weeks.